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Veepstakes

Columnist George Will recently said: “If Jeb Bush is to be Romney’s running mate, it would mean that in seven of nine presidential elections there would be a Bush on the Republican ticket…. And it gets hard to argue that we’re not a tribal society at that point.”

I don’t know who Romney ought to pick, but it seems messed up to rule out someone because of his last name. If picking the best person is the goal, then name-ism could get in the way of that goal. And why try to read qualifications into the 22nd Amendment that aren’t there? Jeb Bush has not served two terms in national office, so he’s eligible.

Suppose that Jeb Bush not only is elected Vice-President, but also eventually serves two terms as president (a HUGE assumption). The Bushes would STILL have not exceeded the approximately twenty years that the Roosevelts served as president. Teddy Roosevelt served almost two full terms, and FDR served a little bit more than three full terms.

In the current Veepstakes, there are many solid contenders from a variety of backgrounds. Jeb Bush is one.